Blessed Event
by dave-d
Summary: A quick one-shot. Naruto on the verge of becoming a father.


Naruto had _never_ been anywhere near this nervous before.

Not when he had his first dangerous ninja encounter with the Demon Brothers. Not when he had faced Shukaku, Kabuto, or Orochimaru. Not even when he had personally taken on Itachi and Kisame a number of years ago.

Hell, he hadn't been this frightened on the night that Hinata had seduced him and they shred their first night of intimacy together.

"How are you holding up?" Hyuuga Hiashi put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "The first one is always the hardest." Smiling, he thought back to similar events in his own life.

"_F-F-F_-" Naruto coughed. "_F_-Fine." He was mumbling. "No problem. Eyes on the goal. Never give up. That's… that's my _Ninja Way."_

Patting Naruto on the back, Hiashi went over to speak with other Hyuuga clan members.

"Here, want a swig?" Jiraiya took the cover off of a large clay pot of Sake. "It will put hair on your chest." When Naruto shook his head, the Legendary Sennin laughed and took a wrapped package out of his robes. "This was one of your wedding gifts. I forgot to give it to you before." He unwrapped it for the fumble-fingered jounin.

_It was a box of condoms._

Laughing loudly, Jiraiya grunted in pain when Tsunade stomped on his foot, then pulled him away by the ear.

When the Hokage returned, she smiled at Naruto. "So…… _Pappa_…… have the two of you picked out a name?" The Hokage was beaming. She treasured moments like this.

"Ummm… name…… baby…… _yes_……" Naruto shook away the mental cobwebs, then straightened his shoulders. "Uhhh…. It will be Marishi, if it's a girl." That had Tsunade smiling. The goddess of light, of the moon and sun. "If it's a boy----"

_Naruto's answer was cut off._

"_SASUKE!" _Shikamaru's quip had the other guys laughing. Even though the Uchuha ninja had returned to Konoha and done his penance, patching up his old relationships, Naruto still considered him to be his rival, much the same way that Kakashi and Gai viewed one another.

Shikamaru walked over and gave Naruto a light punch to the arm. "It's always harder with the first one. But, hang in there, it will be over soon. That's when things truly start to get _bothersome."_ He smiled, thinking of Temari and their young set of twins.

"Yes," Kiba said, nodding. He smiled, showing around two pictures. One was of his own children. The other was of Akamaru and his latest litter of pups.

"That is true." Neji smiled. Looking at Kiba's pictures, he thought about Ten Ten and their daughter. Looking around the room, he asked "Wasn't Choji going to show up?"

"I_ thought_ so…." Shikamaru answered. "He's probably off buying snacks for us to eat while we wait."

It seemed that everyone wanted to be there for Naruto. That meant more to him than he could put in words. Quite a change from his earliest remembered days!

Iruka showed up, bringing a packaged labeled _'Baby's First Ramen Dish.'_ He shook Naruto's hand, obviously very proud of his friend.

Kakashi walked in, carrying an enormous stuffed frog. Everyone gasped. Not because of the choice of gifts, but because of the fact that the Copy Ninja had his mask down for the special occasion.

"Well, now is as good a time to tell you as any," Jiraiya said, walking up again. "You can consider it Fate's birthday gift to your baby…… one that _all _of Konoha can share." The old hermit rummaged around inside of his robes. "Orochimaru was finally caught." He pulled out a carven snake, jointed and gaudily painted. "You can hang this in the baby's crib…."

Tsunade punched her old team mate hard in the gut, doubling him over. The big-haired shinobi dropped down to his knees.

Naruto wasn't paying much attention to the shenanigans. He was staring at the large double doors leading into the delivery area.

Because Hinata had been through a very difficult pregnancy, the medical team was taking full precautions. They had set up a number of intricate seals around the birthing couch. But, there were other reasons for the seals, and those weighed just as heavily on the father-to-be's mind.

Shizune had sadly but firmly told Naruto that he couldn't be in the room with his wife. "We also needed to put special wards up…… because of who the baby's father is…." Her words had chilled him to the bone.

Tsunade had added that there was no way to know just what situation the mother and babe might be faced with, given Naruto's rather unique state. She hadn't needed to mention the word _'Kyuubi.'_

Naruto continued his pacing. Every moment seemed like an eternity. He was worried about Hinata.

He was about to become a father. _Him._ A father!!!

Ha!!! At least he would beat Sasuke at this. After years of being chased, his one time team mate had only recently begun going out with Sakura. Probably just to shut her up. Heh heh heh.

_A door swung open._

It was the door to the main room, not one of the one's leading to the delivery suite.

"_Ooooo-o-o-o-o-o-h!"_ Lee looked particularly energized. "I hope I am not too late. I can not miss this, the most sacred event, the passage of the bright flame of Konoha to another sweet vessel of youth!" Light shined off of his teeth. Smiling, he passed along a book to Naruto.

'_Baby's First Lessons in Lotus. A Stepwise Training Program.'_

"Uhhhh…. Thank's, Lee." The anxious father-to-be accepted another gift as well.

"The girlfriend helped with this," Lee said proudly.

_It was a baby-sized green stretchy suit._

Finally, the door to the suite opened. Shizune stuck her head out and smiled. "It will be a while before we will have the seal fully down, so you'll have to wait to see Hinata." She nodded her head. "She did wonderfully. It looks like she's fine."

Naruto breathed a long sigh of relief.

"But, while you wait…… there is someone who wants to meet you……" Stepping aside, Shizune made room for another medical ninja. She carried a white bundled form.

Everyone took a step closer to Naruto.

Naruto swallowed hard, feeling weak in the knees. He gently spread apart the cloth covering the baby's face.

His mouth fell open. He almost dropped the bundle. He stumbled backward, caught by Jiraiya and Kakashi.

"What's the matter, Naruto?" Tsunade asked? Her eyes twinkled. She was in on it.

"**_F-F-F-F_**…." Naruto couldn't speak.

"Father? Are you trying to say 'Father?' Yes, you're a daddy now." Hiashi smirked. He had grown fond of his son-in-law, but was only too glad to see him at the receiving end of a joke.

"**_F-F-F-F_**…."

"Was I _that_ bad?" Kiba asked. Neji smiled and shook his head.

"**_F-F-F-F_**…."

Everyone laughed. That helped break Naruto out of his deep shock. He was too stunned to be angry, or to pick up on the trick.

"**_F-F-F-Fox!!!_**"

Sure enough, a drowsy fox pup wriggled within the blankets in Naruto's arms.

"Well, I was _worried_ that something like this might happen. I tried to tell Hinata before she married you." The Hokage kept a straight face.

Naruto stood frozen. He imagined that he could hear Nine Tail's laughter.

Shizune peaked in again. "Well, the baby checked out fine. Are we finished with the joke yet?"

_Joke?_

Naruto looked at all of his friends. Then, he watched as a ninja carried out another bundle. The ninja handed the bundle to Shizune, who brought it to Naruto.

"Here," she said, exchanging the babies. "We'll need to return this little guy to his mother, over at the Children's Zoo." She smiled. "I think you'll want to hold _that_ one."

Naruto Looked down at a small face, the most beautiful he had ever seen. A strong hand gripped his finger. A large patch of black hair was visible on the baby's head. When the eyes opened briefly, he could see that they were white.

_His child._

Hiashi put a hand on Naruto's shoulder and squeezed. He then took a moment to wipe away a tear.

Everyone offered their congratulations. While they did, Naruto had one more thing to check. Moving aside the blankets, he looked below the baby's waist.

At that moment, his son urinated, sending a strong stream right up into his father's face.

_Naruto didn't mind one bit._

"That's his son, alright" Jiraiya said with a laugh.


End file.
